Email marketing: what it is and how to implement it

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

In this article, you will learn how to write a marketing email that will be successful (and have fun along the way) from a technical standpoint by going through writing and unpacking the examples together 😉

In order not to force you to read 30 minutes of idle chatter, I've boiled it down to the 9 best tips I've found for writing good marketing emails. This is not only from me but also from great marketers, creatives, and sales geniuses.

• 🧲 Step 1: Define your strategy.
• 💌 Step 2: Find your message.
• ✍ Step 3: Know how to write and get your message across.

Along the way we will learn together:

• Top 9 Email Writing Tips for Writing Better Marketing Letters.
• Bonus: a list of 12 tools on the market to launch a marketing campaign (depending on your strategy).

How to write a marketing email [definition]

marketing email is a set of strategies aimed at using email to generate sales, enhance brand image, and/or build customer loyalty.

If we analyze this definition, we realize that there are two important points that should be emphasized:

• 🧲 The word strategy: What determines the methods, tools, and techniques that we will use next?
• 👊 Action Goal: Sell, gain visibility, and build loyalty with email marketing. (The purpose of the action in any case follows from the original strategy).

What marketing strategy should be implemented?

Each type of email marketing suits a specific purpose. This goal should be predetermined by your strategy.

• 🤑 Customer Acquisition Strategy = Adopting a digital strategy is the way to meet prospects. Acquisition of new clients.

• 🤝 Customer Retention Strategy = The goal is to encourage the customer to repurchase or renew as soon as possible.

• 👶 Lead nurturing strategy = The principle of lead nurturing is to help a potential client move up the conversion funnel (or search funnel ). Her goal is to build relationships with potential clients, turn them into buyers, and then into ambassadors.

• 🎤 Brand development strategy through digital communication = Brand strategy, or branding strategy, is to give the brand a personality, a universe that is clearly identifiable by consumers and customers, and disseminate this information through various channels.

What type of email marketing do I use?

There are several types of marketing emails, and each one will fit a little more into a particular strategy. Let me explain. 🤓 Here is a partial list of email types you can use for your strategy:

• Welcome or registration confirmation emails = loyalty strategy. The prospect has already become a client. You will now use nursing to get them to stay and consume your products or services.

• Newsletters = Can be used for a branding strategy and/or a customer loyalty strategy. The idea is to convey the image of the brand and its added value in every email.

• Reminder letters = a strategy to increase customer loyalty and attract new customers.

• Follow-up or post-sales emails = loyalty strategy. This type of email can also help you better understand the needs of your customers and the improvements that need to be made throughout the sales funnel.

• Prospecting emails = A customer acquisition strategy through email, often followed by transactional emails to guide the potential buyer on their journey to purchase.

• Cold Email 🔥 = This is the first contact with a qualified prospect with the goal of converting them into a customer. It does not fall under the category of marketing emails but is a real strategic tool for building a new contact base.

What is the difference between cold email and marketing email?

The difference is simple:

• Cold email = means that this is the first contact between you and your potential client. They did not subscribe to the newsletter, you found their data (scrapping)and subsequently contacted them.

• marketing email = a person signed up or filled out a form to receive content, they decided to follow your brand and therefore take the first step. Often they are even already customers. 💞

How do attract new customers with a marketing email?

So, if your strategy is to acquire new customers, I recommend either search emails or cold emails.

Prospective Letters: Build Your Database

If you choose to use search email, you will need to collect your prospects' data and ask for their permission to contact them (see RGPD rules ). In the past, vendors used events, fairs, and exhibitions to give out questionnaires to potential customers… But now, with the advent of covid and mass digitization, it is becoming a bit “old school”.

Of course, this still works in some markets, but it is very expensive and difficult to achieve high volume this way. 😱 Recently, the “lead magnet ” system has become widespread and has become one of the most effective dynamic content for getting email lists and sending search letters. It's a win-win system.

For example, you place a visual image on your site that advertises exclusive content, in order to get access to this content, a potential client fills out their information and agrees to be contacted again. 📑

Cold Email: Build Your Database

To tackle cold email, it's a little different because you're directly getting data on people who might like what you're doing, and you're going to write to them. You are creating a brand new email database.

They don't know you. 😱

You get their data back. 😏

You are trying to contact them. 👽

A cold email has become one of the flagship techniques at Btob. 🚀

How to boost your branding with email marketing?

In this case, you will focus on email newsletters. The newsletter will need to reflect your values, tone, your touch, and what you have to offer. Of course, strengthening your branding will create customer loyalty and bring you new perspectives. The difference is only in the subtlety of the approach.

• A prospective email would be more direct = I want this person to buy now.
• The newsletter is likely to be more subtle = remember us, show interest, tell others about us, and come back to us. 👇

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

How to build customer loyalty with email marketing?

Here we will talk about customer support:

• Welcome or registration confirmation emails.
• Reminder letters.
• A series of letters as a follow-up or after-sales letters.

The goal is to accompany the customer throughout the purchase process and beyond to make sure they are happy with the user journey. 🥰

At the same time, creating a customer mailing list allows you to keep in touch, helping the customer feel privileged, accompanied throughout the journey, and kept up to date with the latest company news. In addition to this can be a company page on LinkedIn, where you can publish and accumulate followers (followers).

Find Your Message - Top 9 Marketing Email Writing Tips

Now that you know what types of content marketing exist depending on your goals, we can talk more about email writing techniques. ✍

Of course, the content will depend on your strategy (email marketing campaign, brand image…), as for the container, we will talk about recommendations that will help you with any type of content and for any creative process that will challenge your professional life. 🗻

How to write a good marketing email?

There are 9 concepts you need to know to learn how to write a good email (marketing email). 😍 Here I will not talk about the tips that you see in absolutely every article about copywriting.

I will not tell you what tricks and turns of speech work. Simply because as soon as you start saying they work, everyone will know about them and they will stop working.

And even more so in B2b, because we are all trained to recognize these tricks with a keen eye. 👀

How to make your marketing email successful

• 😱 #1 Stop trying to be original, it's impossible.
• 🎭 #2 Learn to be inspired without imitating.
• 😑 #3 An email that worked once won't work twice.
• 😪 #4 You can use the best email templates, but it won't be enough.
• 🤐 #5 Don't talk about anything. Every word matters.
• 🤿 #6 Create your own world and immerse the reader in it.
• 😎 #7 Speak to inspire, not to sell.
• 🤮 #8 Don't spend 5 hours improving 2 lines.
• 🎨 #9 Get involved in the creative process as soon as you can.

#1 Stop trying to be original, it's impossible

I learned this from Austin Kleon. The author of a very well-written and sold book called “Fly Like an Artist ” O. Kleon believes (and he is right) that the artist does not create: he copies, improves, remakes, and redistributes.

What is too often forgotten about copywriting is that it is art before it is a marketing technique.

The art of words and literature. 🎨

Those who of all ages convinced entire crowds to follow them were not marketers, they were philosophers, politicians, and people who knew how to handle the art of the word like no other.

What is originality? Unnoticed plagiarism.

William Ralph Inge

Therefore, you should immediately put out of your mind the idea that you are going to do something unique that no one has done before.

It doesn't matter if you work as a community manager and post on social media at the same time or do your very first marketing email: you will not do anything original. However, you can take inspiration from the best and turn their ideas into your own.

#2 Learn to be inspired without imitating

Now the question is, how do you write without copying?

Copying is ugly, and besides, it shows. 😱

Immature poets imitate; experienced poets steal; bad poets mutilate what they take, and good poets make something better out of it.

T.S. Eliot.

Now replace poets with copywriters and everything will be exactly the same. When you want to create content, remember that what has already been done by others can be reused. I will give you an example from my piggy bank of ideas:

• The communication strategy of the French slip has inspired the way I use community management.
• The incredible repositioning of PNL, now a luxury brand, inspired the way I look at marketing strategy.

But it's not only that, it's the books I read, the people I meet, and the new startups that are being launched. The world is nothing but inspiration. Take. Come out of the box. Create your own. 🎨

#3 An email that worked once won't work twice

Keep in mind that taking an already made email template, reusing the same email objects multiple times or in the same vein as your competitors will only hurt you in the long run. That's why I try not to give you 10 templates to copy and paste, but rather to help you find your own inspiration🎭

You will get more pleasure. You will get more results. You will get more clients.

#4 You can use the best email templates, but that still won't be enough.

But since I know that this is what many people are looking for, I will still leave you a link to the main search guide.

#5 Don't waste your time: every word counts

If there is one thing you need to reinforce in yourself: when you write, when you speak, when you sell a product or project: it is that every word counts. 🔥

• Toinon has a technique that I really like.
• He writes several letters in a row.
• He proofreads and proofreads business letters.
• He manages to remove 20 to 30% of the text, removing all unnecessary words and heavy sentences.
• He checks the words he uses to ensure he only uses what copywriting calls “power words ” (marketing trends to sell better).
• After 24 hours, he rereads everything, makes final changes, and then launches his campaigns.

It's a fairly complex technique because it lets the spontaneity and creativity of the moment speak for itself, then includes a technique for improving the quality of the message and better persuading the prospect while leaving time for reflection, allowing you to add the finishing touches that will make a difference. ✨

#6 Create your own universe and act in it

If your company already has a strong universe, then you need to dive into it. It's best to have an identity lens for your box and even potentially your product.

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

Knowing the added value of a company and product is the first step before writing anything.

Then comes the tone, the personality, the culture, the relationship you want to create with the prospect, and the mentalization, which is what you want them to perceive through your brand.

#7 Speak to inspire, not sell

As we have just said, there is real mentalization and reflection between the consumer and the products he consumes. We buy something or go to the store, and visit the site not only to get the product we need but also to get a real consumer experience. (Also called the consumer life cycle or UX).

We buy Apple because it reminds us that we have the opportunity to realize our dreams and pursue our creative ideals.

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

We drink Perrier because it makes us feel more alive, more bourgeois, and more successful in our lives.

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

We were never sold a product, we were sold a story and feelings. Stop sending ads, send feelings.

What is your story?

What emotions do you want to convey to us? 😲

#8 Don’t spend 5 hours improving 2 lines

20% of actions give 80% of results. Focus on these activities.

We focus on what works, not trying to make everything perfect,

• We work faster. 🏃
• We send the best email campaigns.
• We are more competitive
• And we get better results. 🚀

#9 Get involved in the creative process when you can.

If your head is full of other thoughts and you can't focus on writing an email list, then don't do it. 😪

Choose more monotonous tasks that don't require creativity. Use the most appropriate time. Be flexible. If you feel like your job or boss doesn't allow it, allow yourself. ✨

What tools should you use to run email campaigns?

Now that you have enough information about the different types of email marketing and how to successfully create your own emails, we can analyze the tools to help you launch your campaigns.

What email marketing software to use?

Again, the marketing software you use will depend on your initial strategy. (By the way, that's why we started with this) 😉

If you want to write newsletters for customer retention in Btoc (business to customer), you will not use the same tool as if you want to cold send new prospects in B2b (business to business).

I have prepared a good comparison of the tools on the market, some of which offer the possibility of a multi-channel campaign. LinkedIn + email.

You have this comparison: brand name, subscription price, channel type, tool advantages, and disadvantages. Now it's up to you to decide whether it suits you or not 😉

How to write a marketing email: 9 tips from creative writers

If you're looking to send your first email campaign and you're targeting more Bloc, meaning you're reaching out directly to consumers, I invite you to check out the Sendinblue tool we use and recommend because it's pretty easy to get started with. 😊

You can also run mailing campaigns manually by getting a database of leads from an Excel spreadsheet, or you can use automated campaigns* (for example, combine an email campaign with a LinkedIn campaign).

*Which is suitable for mass mailing and allows you to send thousands of messages in just a few clicks.

Article Conclusion: How to Write a Marketing Email and Run a Campaign?

To develop good management of the marketing campaigns you will be responsible for, ask yourself these questions: 

#1 Strategy.

• What strategy am I implementing?
• What are my goals?
• How will I measure their success 👈 (part 6 of the article to get all the math)?

#2. Message.

• What is the identity of my brand or product?
• What tone and style do I use?
• What kind of mentalization and reflection do I want my clients to feel? 😎 (Kapferer prism).

#3 Copywriting.

• How can I be creative and up-to-date without copying and trying to reinvent everything?
• How do I engage in the writing process (method)? ✍
• How to use high-impact words and convince the audience?

#Bonus.

• What tools to use to start a campaign?

Questions and answers to the article

Why does email marketing work so well?

Email marketing is still the second most effective way to generate leads and has become a must-have in your digital marketing strategy.

The strength of email marketing lies in its speed of implementation and super availability. However, the most effective way to build a database and get leads is still LinkedIn automation. 🔥

Therefore, we advise you to combine marketing email with other forms of customer acquisition. Effective mailing is something to work on, but remember not to put all your eggs in one basket. 😱

Your best bet is to use A/B testing tools, platforms, and methods and see what works best for your goals.

The numbers don't lie. Take detailed statistics, find out what works, and use these types of attractions 😉

When to send an email campaign?

Sending an email is not as trivial as it seems. A French Internet user receives an average of 39 e-mails per day. These are 39 brands or people that will steal your prospect's time, patience, and focus before they get your email. This is why the average open rate is not very high, especially on professional email addresses.

So, the main dispute for all community managers is this:

• When?
• What's the perfect day?
• What is the ideal time?
• How often should I send emails to avoid becoming a spammer?

Tuesday and Thursday are the best days to send emails.

According to research conducted by customer.io

I don't have much faith in these studies.

Not a drop. 😪

It’s already pretty vague about who they wanted to target, search volume and how big of a difference it is, how many weeks they’ve been testing, how responsive their databases are, and average open and click rates … In short, no one can tell which day will be the best for your goal and your messages other than you. 💌

Again, do AB testing. You have nothing to lose. But everything can be won.

These 9 creative and marketing tips will make writing your marketing email a little easier.